Golding blames Gov’t’s own non-performance for project delays

WESTERN BUREAU:

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has dismissed claims that uncooperative public sector workers are hampering the Government’s project execution, insisting that the real problem is the administration’s own non-performance.

Golding, who toured sections of Hanover and Westmoreland on Wednesday to assess recovery efforts one year after Hurricane Melissa, was confronted with complaints from residents who said they were still waiting for assistance.

“I think Jamaica is becoming increasingly incensed and frustrated with the way the country is being governed,” said Golding. “Now we’re hearing 10 years into this Government’s regime, they’re talking about sabotage within the public sector ... . I mean, it’s pathetic. They’re always trying to find some excuse for their own non-performance.”

In rejecting the sabotage claims, Golding suggested that many of the public sector workers now under scrutiny could themselves have been appointed because of their political affiliation to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“They’ve weeded out most people who they think are politically aligned to the other side (the People’s National Party), and they’ve packed the place with the people who they feel are aligned to them as much as they can, in terms of where they have those discretionary powers,” said the opposition leader. “So, these kinds of excuses just don’t wash, and they sound unhinged to me and to others.”

Golding also questioned the leadership and effectiveness of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), raising concerns about its ability to deliver on its mandate and provide proper oversight of the recovery programme.

He suggested that the authority’s leadership structure was poorly conceived.

“The chairman lives overseas, you know. So I don’t think they meet very frequently – the chairman of JAMRROC, which is a supposed oversight body, which doesn’t have any legal status,” he said. “So the whole thing is poorly designed from an accountability point of view.”

Golding argued that the authority’s communication had also been inadequate, suggesting that its leadership might be struggling to establish its role.

“We’ve made that point over and over again, and it’s manifesting itself now. So yes, they need to communicate far more effectively. Maybe they don’t know what they’re doing, so that’s why they’re not saying anything,” added Golding.

He further questioned NaRRA’s priorities, pointing to the controversy dogging the agency.

“They (NaRRA) have got off to a pretty poor start because there’s this controversy about the property they’re renting downtown Kingston and the very high salary paid to the CEO, and that seems to have triggered a backlash where the prime minister decided that they’re going to cut foreign travel for public sector officers and other Christmas party expenses, and so on,” said Golding.

He was also critical of the Government’s cost-cutting measures, arguing that it had failed to indicate how much money the proposed reductions would actually save.

“It just seems like a knee-jerk political response to the embarrassment that was occasioned by information coming out about NaRRA’s priorities. Setting that aside, we need Jamaica to be restored, and we need NaRRA to be efficient and effective. I just hope that they can get their act together,” he said.

Golding further questioned the value of the announced involvement of the British government in NaRRA’s projects, saying there was little clarity about the nature or cost of its proposed contribution.

“I see now the British government is being engaged to do something in relation to NaRRA. I’m not sure what. Is that going to be at additional expense for Jamaica as well? If so, what are the benefits that Jamaica will derive from that additional expenditure? We don’t know.”

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com